Virtue/Guide
Strengths and Weaknesses Strengths #High concentration of Special damage and versatility #Zoner role grants him excellence in keeping the enemy out of melee range #Numerous Area of Effect (AOE) attacks with large hitboxes #Access to multiple debuffs, such as (-) Movement decreased and (-) Burn effect #8 entirely different attacks across 4 Specials (two attacks each for SP2-SP5) Weaknesses # Low Health (800 HP/80% of average class HP) # Zoner role limits his mobility and close-range prowess # Low combo potential # Offense is heavily reliant on cooldowns # High maintenance Passive, requiring re-selection of elements when either using SP2-SP5 or being inflicted with hitstun Playstyle As Virtue, your main objective is to maintain distance. In some ways, you are the underdog of the game -- you lack the easily accessible Autocombos that most other classes possess, you have extremely low Health, and your mobility is average at best. However, do not be intimidated by your own imperfection and shy away from playing Virtue. The "clunky" navigation of your Element Wheel will soon become second nature, provided that you continue to learn. While Virtue is technically a pure Zoner, he arguably functions best at mid range, where the enemy has less time to react to your projectiles, and where they can be caught in the sweet spots of your magic/area of effect attacks. Keep a mental note of where you are on your Element Wheel, and even mix it up to surprise your opponent. Most importantly, though, be keen on how far your opponent can attack from and stay just outside of that range. If you find yourself backpedaling too much, remember that while you are strolling backwards, the enemy is charging at you in a full sprint. Match this mobility frequent airdashes and turning around to Sprint if the opponent is getting too close. And remember -- everything in Virtue's arsenal has a use, even if you think otherwise. Virtue has a lot of potential, and with enough intuition, he can even be used to become a Rushdown. So keep calm, and use your opponent to experiment with the numerous spells at your disposal. Moveset Universal Skills Autocombos (AC) Specials (SP) 'Water' 'Wind' 'Earth' 'Fire' EX Specials Combos 'Bread and Butter (BnB)' 7 inputs, 265 damage (+20 DOT), requires no Heat 'LC Starter' *^Fire SP4 (L.AC3 H.AC) > Earth SP3 (L.AC2 H.AC) Water SP2 (H.AC) > SP1 > Water SP2 Earth SP3 Starter *Earth SP3 (L.AC H.AC) > Fire SP4 (L.AC H.AC L.AC2) > Water SP2 (H.AC) > SP6 > 180°turn... (265 damage (+20 DOT)) - While anything after SP6 is not confirmed, this combo does set up an opportunity to use Earth SP5 to pressure the enemy as an okizeme, leading to a potential 588 damage. Fire SP4 Starter *(Air) Fire SP4 (L.AC3 H.AC) > Earth SP3 > (L.AC2 H.AC) Water SP2 > (H.AC) > SP1 > Water SP2 (295 damage (+20 DOT)) Matchups 'Assailant' See: Assailant One of your "it could be worse" matchups. Be it the cutting down of your walkspeed with his Passive, or how every Virtue H.AC is a free combo for his Counterhit SP1, Assailant has multiple ways of shutting you down. Unfortunately for him, however, he has to catch up to you first. Assailant is laughably melee-oriented (despite one projectile that can apply his Passive from far away). Make the most of your mobility by dancing around Assailant with frequent airdashes, bombarding him with Fire SP4 and pelting him with projectiles until he finally falls. SP6 will usually escape his many okizemes or resets, and pushblocking is insanely useful for shooing away his attempts at grinding you to a halt with debilitating Counterhit J.ACs. It is also recommended to save your Heat for a Breakout instead of your EX Specials, as a desperate Assailant (if they get a hold of you) might sacrifice a lengthy combo with more damage for a simple SP3, which grants him the (+) Lifesteal buff if the attack finishes. He can do this at any point in a combo, meaning you'd best have Breakout ready to rob him off his chance at a comeback. 'Avalon' See: Avalon A wary matchup. Unlike Assailant, Avalon can pick and choose whether to pursue you in hand-to-hand combat -- and if he's smart, he probably won't. After all, nearly half of his kit can also be used for a Zoner playstyle. That's not the scariest thing about facing Avalon, though. His SP6 grants him immunity to both projectiles and magic, making him frequently able to ignore over half of your moveset. Do not despair, however -- His SP6 is also a giant AOE that deals no hitstun, meaning you can waltz into the middle of it and Water SP3 for some free Health. You can alternatively rush besides him and annihilate him with SP7 or the beginning hit of Earth SP3 while he's performing it. Bait him into throwing out his SP6 with by switching to Water or Wind, then dash beside him for the punish as he SP6s in anticipation. All in all, Virtue has the potential to outzone Avalon, for sure -- just don't go running into Avalon SP4 with Water SP3 and expect to be saved from death. You will embarrass yourself. 'Kurai' See: Kurai A poor (but not impossible) matchup. Kurai is often generalized as "Virtue's counter", being the "pure Rushdown" scissors to Virtue's "pure Zoner" paper. As a result, people may switch to Kurai if you beat them too hard, or pre-existing Kurais might be inclined to underestimate you while engaging. It's your job to use that to your advantage. Firstly, shrug off Kurai's wide-reaching swings with a pushblock, making him start at square one again while you gain distance. If you're scared of Kurai SP4 (a projectile counter), do not fret -- you can bait it out with an intentional miss or by blocking while the projectile is active. It also helps to make frequent use of Fire, the only non-projectile element. Plus, Fire SP4 lets you cram in a few projectiles while Kurai cannot counter with SP4. If you're ever low on Health, feed off of Kurai SP6 with Water SP3, or -- if push comes to shove -- bait Kurai's Guardbreak out by turtling with block, then using Water SP3 at the last second. More than anything, though, stay calm, cool and collected. After all, it's the only way you can avoid becoming a self-fulfilling prophecy of being "countered" by a class that, in truth, is just about as easy to defeat as anyone else. 'Virtue' See: Virtue A fairly even matchup. While you are both pure Zoners, it is best to meet another Virtue halfway as a Duelist if you are about to battle. A battle cannot exist without conflict, and there is certainly no conflict in both opponents trying to flee from each other. When fighting another Virtue, constantly keep your eyes on their Elspirit orb. Based on their currently selected element, their approach is typically going to be comprised of one short-ranged attack and one projectile (unless they have Fire, in which case they are probably going to get more aggressive). Thus, at the core of a fight against Virtue is the avoidance of being predicted. If there isn't much going on in neutral, randomly mix up some of your elements to confuse the enemy, then only settle on one right before you advance. Because Virtue has little combo potential, a smart Virtue will soon become wise to your attack patterns, so be sure to practice plenty of mixups that will disorient them. Should you play your cards right (and stay unpredictable), you will dominate this mirror match with ease. Category:Class Guides